President Lech Kaczynski said in a November 15 interview in the Warsaw
daily "Dziennik" that Poland is justified in blocking any move by the
EU to launch talks on a new EU-Russia partnership agreement, dpa
reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," November 8, 13, and 14, 2006). He
stressed that Russia must observe "equality and genuine partnership" if
it wants good relations with Poland. He argued that "Poland must take a
decisive stand. Only in this way will it be allowed to defend its
interests." Kaczynski noted that as long as Russia maintains its
current embargo on Polish meat and plant products, it is violating its
obligations to the EU. As a consequence, either Russia must lift its
ban, or the EU must impose similar sanctions against Russia, he added.
RIA Novosti said in a commentary on November 15 that Poland is
concerned primarily about its food exports and is using the energy
issue to "blackmail" Russia. Poland maintains that Russia imposed the
food ban for political and not for hygienic reasons, as Moscow claims.
PM

EU foreign- and security-policy chief Javier Solana told RFE/RL in
Brussels on November 14 that he has no doubt that a way will be found
out of the current impasse involving Polish objections to launching
talks with Russia on a new long-term agreement between Brussels and
Moscow. He said that "Poland said [on November 13] that they want to
have as an element of the negotiations with Russia that Russia accepts
the Energy Charter. Russia has said many times that [it is] not against
it, [not against] the philosophy of the charter, but that [it has] some
difficulties in accepting the manner in which these ideas are
expressed. But we have a commitment with Russia to keep discussing this
question about the Energy Charter, and I am sure that Poland will
understand that." Russia signed the Energy Charter in 1994, but
President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly refused to ratify it without
substantial modifications. The document would require Russia to open up
access to its pipelines, which Gazprom now effectively controls as a
monopoly, while seeking greater access to European markets for itself.
PM

Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja, whose country currently holds
the EU Presidency, said in Brussels on November 14 that he hopes that
EU member states will soon find common ground on launching talks with
Russia, RFE/RL reported. He said that "we'll work on a mandate
[partnership agreement], and I would expect that we can finalize the
mandate and have it adopted by the [European] Council. It can still be
done before the [November 24] EU-Russia summit." In Moscow, the daily
"Izvestia" reported on November 15 that "the only formal consequence of
Poland's protest is a step backward in the EU consultations process.
The EU, despite its internal conflicts, is fond of order. Finland,
currently chairing the EU, is fond of order as well. Finnish
representatives have said repeatedly that Europe and Russia should
speak 'with one voice.' Thus, some sort of digestible solution is
likely to be found by the time the Helsinki summit opens." PM

Lithuanian Deputy Foreign Minister Zygimantas Pavilionis, who
participated in the November 13 Brussels meeting of EU foreign
ministers, told RFE/RL on November 14 that Lithuania is coordinating
its Russia policy with Poland. He said that "starting in September [of
this year], Lithuania has constantly consulted with Poland, as our
strategic partner, on all questions concerning the Russia-EU agreement.
It is not only because [Poland] is our partner, but also because our
interests coincide, especially in the energy sphere." Lithuanian
President Valdas Adamkus and Lithuanian legislators have repeatedly
warned that Russia uses its energy resources to pressure and
"blackmail" its neighbors (see "RFE/RL Newsline," September 19 and
November 8, 2006). Russian and some European media have stressed that
Poland had no support at the Brussels meeting, but Germany's
"Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" commented on November 14 that Poland
has done the EU a favor by insisting that Russia ratify the Energy
Charter as a precondition to talks, lest any new agreement lack
substance. PM

Arkady Dvorkovich, who is a top economic adviser to President Vladimir
Putin, said on November 14 that Moscow currently has no plans to form a
cartel of gas producing and shipping countries to strengthen its
leverage over Europe, but he did not rule out such an option,
mosnews.com reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," June 20, October 31, and
November 14, 2006). Dvorkovich stressed that "creating cartels is a
possible, but not necessarily the most efficient way of solving
problems. Under no circumstances would we initiate or insist on that."
He added, however, that "if all major gas producers are interested in
reaching such an agreement, its creation is possible. No possibilities
should be excluded, but I don't think it will happen." PM

The State Duma is slated to consider a number of bills on November 15,
including one to abolish the requirement for a 20 percent voter turnout
for an election to the State Duma and a 50 percent turnout for a
presidential vote for an election to be valid, Russian media reported
(see "RFE/RL Newsline," November 14, 2006). Federation Council speaker
Sergei Mironov, who is also a leader of the new "manufactured
opposition" party known as A Just Russia, said in a November 15
interview with the daily "Izvestia" that dropping the turnout threshold
is "premature." He argued that the move constitutes an attempt by the
pro-Kremlin Unified Russia party to improve its own position, but
warned that various recent "moves to change electoral laws will come
back to bite Unified Russia" (see "RFE/RL Newsline," October 30, 2006).
Mironov suggested that his party will soon start to win regional
legislative elections and then "we'll be able to nominate governor
candidates...and soon have our own regional leaders." Vladimir Pligin,
who heads the State Duma's committee on constitutional law, argued in
the state-run "Rossiiskaya gazeta" of November 15 that there is no
turnout threshold in many major democracies, including the United
States or Canada. He added that "the principle here is the free
expression of the people's will in free elections. Voters decide for
themselves whether to participate in elections or not." Critics charge
that the proposed legislation will deprive voters of the possibility of
blocking objectionable candidates by boycotting the election. Pligin
argued, however, that "this is one of the most well-educated and
politically active societies in the world. Most of our citizens don't
want to sit back and passively observe what happens to them." PM

The EU signed European Neighborhood Policy action plans in Brussels on
November 14 with Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, RFE/RL and
international media reported. Those plans comprise incentives,
including closer cooperation with the EU and wider access to its
internal market, that are intended to expedite democratization and
reforms of the justice, energy, health, and education systems, and
strengthen regional security. EU External Relations Commissioner Benita
Ferrero-Waldner stressed on November 14 that the neighborhood policy is
not intended as a preliminary step towards EU membership, RFE/RL
reported. But Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili nonetheless
affirmed at the signing ceremony that Georgia's accession to the EU "is
only a matter of time," Caucasus Press reported. The foreign ministers
of Armenia and Azerbaijan, Vartan Oskanian and Elmar Mammadyarov, both
noted that the signing of the agreements creates more favorable
conditions for achieving a negotiated settlement of the Karabakh
conflict, according to echo-az.com on November 15. LF

Opposition Zharangutiun (Heritage) party leader Raffi Hovannisian
together with several supporters staged a picket on November 14 outside
the building in Yerevan that houses the Prosecutor-General's Office to
demand a response to his protest filed one month earlier over reprisals
directed against Zharangutiun in March that Hovannisian claims were
carried out on direct orders from the presidential administration,
RFE/RL's Armenian Service reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," March 7 and
23, April 4, and May 31, 2006). Zaruhi Postanjian, a lawyer for
Zharangutiun, said computers confiscated from the party's headquarters
in March were tampered with and some data "modified" before they were
returned. LF

The Armenian government's Public Services Regulatory Commission gave
the green light on November 14 for the acquisition by the Russian
mobile phone operator VimpelCom of the 90 percent stake in the Armenian
Telephone Company (ArmenTel) currently owned by Greece's Hellenic
Telecommunications Organization SA (OTE), Noyan Tapan and RFE/RL's
Armenian Service reported. According to unconfirmed media reports,
VimpelCom will pay 341.9 million euros ($436.3 million) for that stake,
and will in addition repay ArmenTel's 40 million euros debt. Relations
between OTE and the Armenian government have weathered numerous crises
since the former first acquired a majority stake in ArmenTel in 1998.
LF

The Georgian Foreign Ministry has released a statement rejecting
comments made on November 13 by its Russian counterpart regarding the
November 12 presidential election and referendum in the unrecognized
Republic of South Ossetia, Caucasus Press reported on November 14.
Tbilisi rejected the Russian statement that independent observers
concluded that the ballot took place "in accordance with the generally
accepted principles and norms for the organization and conduct of a
democratic ballot." The Georgian statement further described the
Russian comments as a reflection of support for the separatist
government of South Ossetia and as intended to undermine Georgia's
territorial integrity. LF

Three Georgian opposition politicians -- Temur Zhorzholiani, Zaza
Davitaya, and Vkahtang Talakadze -- who were arrested two months ago on
charges of treason in connection with an alleged coup plot masterminded
by former National Security head Igor Giorgadze (see "RFE/RL Newsline,"
September 7 and 8, 2006), have released an appeal through their lawyer
in which they call on U.S. President George W. Bush to take unspecified
measures to "halt political repression" in Georgia, Caucasus Press
reported on November 14. Also on November 14, Caucasus Press reported
that the opposition Labor Party has written to the president of the
European Parliament alleging that President Saakashvili has imposed a
single-party "dictatorial regime" in Georgia. LF

Kyrgyz lawmakers on November 14 adopted a bill initiated by President
Kurmanbek Bakiev that lays out broad access for citizens and residents
to information that is not deemed to be commercial or state secrets,
AKIpress reported the same day. The legislation also requires state
officials to respond to inquiries directly or via the media, and
includes a clause allowing the public to attend government sessions and
making them a matter of public record. The law must still be signed by
Bakiev before it can go into effect. AN

Kyrgyz Transport and Communications Minister Nurlan Sulaymanov has
blamed the recent collision of a Kyrgyz Airlines plane with a U.S.
military KC-136 at Manas Airport on the U.S. crew, 24.kg reported on
November 14. Sulaymanov said the Foreign Ministry is discussing the
issue of compensation for damages with U.S. officials. One of the
Kyrgyz Tu-154's wings caught fire following the collision, which
occurred during takeoff on September 26; the aircraft was carrying 52
passengers bound for Moscow. President Bakiev uses the airplane that
was damaged in the incident for official trips abroad. AN

The first group of residents to be resettled from southern Tajikistan
to the western part of the country were relocated on November 14,
Regnum news agency reported the same day. The group, of 56 families
from the Kulob region, moved to the Tursunzade region, Kulob regional
official Sukhrobsho Farruhshoev said. He added that some 1,000
volunteer families will gradually be moved to western Tajikistan, which
borders Uzbekistan. Farruhshoev described the project as an attempt to
develop new lands in the Tursinzade region. But some local observers
were quoted by ferghana.ru as saying it seeks to offset the primarily
ethnic Uzbek population with ethnic Tajiks. AN

A regional court in the town of Namangan acquitted Arabboy Qodirov, the
head of the local branch of the Ezgulik Human Rights organization, on
November 13, Germany-based uznews.net website reported the next day.
Qodirov was detained in May and subsequently convicted on charges of
anticonstitutional activities and falsifying documents, but his lawyers
and colleagues appealed the court's decision. During recent EU-Uzbek
talks in Brussels, Uzbek officials reportedly expressed a willingness
to launch a human rights dialogue. EU officials who said they remain
"profoundly concerned" by the human rights situation in Uzbekistan
voted on November 13 for an extension of an arms embargo for another 12
months and a visa ban for 12 top Uzbek officials for six months. AN

Uzbekistan's Uzbekenergo and the Afghan Energy and Water Resources
Ministry signed an agreement in Tashkent on November 13 under which
Uzbekistan will supply electricity to Afghanistan's northern, southern,
and central regions, Russia-based afghanistan.ru website reported on
November 14. Uzbekistan is already the main supplier of electricity to
Afghanistan, which faces serious shortages. The agreement comes after a
recent visit of Afghan Energy and Water Resources Minister Ismail Khan
to Tashkent, where he discussed expanding cooperation in electricity
supplies. Afghanistan is reportedly seeking a similar deal with
Turkmenistan. AN

[17] U.S. ADDS UZBEKISTAN TO LIST OF COUNTRIES OF 'PARTICULAR CONCERN'

The U.S. State Department has announced the inclusion of Uzbekistan on
its list of the world's worst violators of religious freedoms, Reuters
reported on November 14. Washington describes Uzbekistan as a country
where ordinary Muslims are harassed, detained and accused of extremism,
and Christians routinely face abuses. The U.S. ambassador for religious
freedom, John Hanford, said the list should serve as a signal to
countries that they have serious problems, and he added that the Uzbek
government "continues to target observant Muslims for arrest, often
considering conservative Islamic practice to be evidence of extremism
and terrorism." Representative Tom Lantos (Democrat, California), who
is likely to be nominated to chair the House International Relations
Committee, welcomed the State Department's decision on Uzbekistan. AN

Eastern Europe

[18] BELARUSIAN OPPOSITION FIELDS SOME 1,000 CANDIDATES FOR LOCAL
ELECTIONS

The united democratic opposition has registered some 1,000 candidates
through the signature-collecting procedure for local elections
scheduled to take place on January 14, RFE/RL's Belarus Service and
Belapan reported on November 14. Authorities refused to register
several prominent leaders of opposition parties and independent trade
unions as candidates, including United Civic Party Chairman Anatol
Lyabedzka, United Civic Party Deputy Chairman Yaraslau Ramanchuk, and
trade unionists Alyaksandr Bukhvostau and Henadz Fyadynich.
Theoretically, Lyabedzka and Ramanchuk can still make the ballot if
they are proposed by their party. JM

Former lawmaker Syarhey Skrabets was released from a correctional
facility on November 15, RFE/RL's Belarus Service reported. Skrabets
was arrested in May 2005, and the the Supreme Court sentenced him in
February 2006 to 2 1/2 years in prison, finding him guilty of
defrauding a bank in a case that was widely believed to be politically
motivated. Skrabets went on hunger strike on October 20, in solidarity
with hunger-striking Alyaksandr Kazulin, a former opposition
presidential candidate who is serving 5 1/2 years in the same facility
from which Skrabets was released. JM

[20] INTELLECTUAL SAYS BELARUS'S SUPPLY OF 'HONOR FOR SALE' HAS BEEN
EXHAUSTED

Valery Bulhakau, editor in chief of the intellectual
Belarusian-language monthly "Arche," told RFE/RL's Belarus Service on
November 14 that Belarus during the rule of President Alyaksandr
Lukashenka, like the Belarusian SSR, has been "a prostitute selling its
honor to Russia." "This honor consisted of her [Belarus's] ethnic
idiosyncrasies -- its language, culture, genuine traditions, and so
on," Bulhakau noted. According to Bulhakau, Moscow invested heavily in
Belarus during the Soviet era in order to make the republic loyal to
the center and to prevent the Belarusians from becoming a nation. "From
this point of view, Russia's recent [gas-price proposals] show that the
Russians have begun to realize that the Belarusians have nothing more
to sell on the symbolic level. The Belarusians have already become
almost identical with the Russians, therefore their resources of honor
for sale have been exhausted. If this logic is true, then we will
unavoidably see a serious increase in gas prices," Bulhakau said. JM

Deputy Prosecutor-General Renat Kuzmin said in a television interview
on November 14 that Ukrainian prosecutors believe that Interior
Minister Yuriy Lutsenko has been involved in corruption, Ukrainian
media reported. Kuzmin said the alleged corruption is linked to an
investigation into the killing earlier this year of Roman Yerokhin, a
colonel in the Interior Ministry. Asked by a journalist to be more
specific about Lutsenko's alleged corrupt actions, Kuzmin said the
issue involves the "unlawful promotion of police officers, unlawful
issue of combat handguns to individuals who have no right to carry
weapons, and a lot of other [violations]." Lutsenko was one of
President Viktor Yushchenko's nominations to Prime Minister Viktor
Yanukovych's cabinet. JM

Health Minister Yuriy Polyachenko said on November 15 that he is ready
to stay in Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych's government,
Interfax-Ukraine reported. Polyachenko added that he does not support
the decision of the pro-presidential Our Ukraine People's Union to go
into opposition. Polyachenko was appointed health minister in the
cabinet of Prime Minister Yuriy Yekhanurov in September 2005 and
proposed by Our Ukraine for the same job in Yanukovych's cabinet in
August 2006. After the Our Ukraine parliamentary caucus decided to go
into opposition in October, Polyachenko and three other ministers
proposed by Our Ukraine tendered their resignations (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," October 19, 2006). The Verkhovna Rada on November 1 accepted
the resignations of Justice Minister Roman Zvarych and Culture Minister
Ihor Likhovyy. JM

Foreign Minister Borys Tarasyuk and Defense Minister Anatoliy Hrytsenko
delivered reports in the Verkhovna Rada on November 15 on their cabinet
performance, as they were requested to do by parliament last month,
Ukrainian media reported. Lawmakers from the ruling coalition of the
Party of Regions, the Socialist Party, and the Communist Party
criticized Tarasyuk and Hrytsenko for what they saw as their
unsatisfactory work and negligence in office. The Verkhovna Rada failed
to pass any resolution on either minister during its morning sitting.
Tarasyuk and Hrytsenko were nominated for their cabinet posts by
President Yushchenko. JM

European Union defense ministers on November 13 postponed a decision to
reduce the size of the EU's peacekeeping force in Bosnia-Herzegovina,
AP reported the same day. Brussels is considering reducing the 6,500
strong EUFOR peacekeeping force to as few as 1,500 troops. But defense
ministers, worried that potential unrest in Kosova could spread to
Bosnia, decided to postpone the decision. "A decision to reduce troop
strength is under consideration," EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana
told the defense ministers' meeting. "The situation in
Bosnia-Herzegovina allows this." Solana added that member states should
not take a decision before December and not begin the reductions until
February 2007 at the earliest. French Defense Minister Michele
Alliot-Marie said the EU must make sure it has enough troops in the
region in case unrest spreads from Kosova. "We can envisage a reduction
of the Bosnia force on condition that we maintain the ability to return
in force quickly if the region, especially Kosova, becomes unstable,"
she said. BW

Also on November 13, Solana said he supports United Nations special
envoy Martti Ahtisaari's decision to delay his recommendations on
Kosova's future until after Serbia holds elections, AP reported the
same day. "It will be better...to see if the strong democratic
government may come out in Serbia that will be, for the future,
beneficial for everybody," Solana said. Other EU officials agreed with
Solana's assessment. EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said a delay
"is sensible" given the January 21 elections in Serbia. Rehn added,
however, that the delay "cannot be too long...because we cannot leave
Kosova in legal limbo." And Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja,
who chaired separate EU foreign ministers' talks with Ahtisaari, said
the delay would not harm efforts to bring lasting stability to the
Balkans. "We are not afraid it will destabilize the situation," he told
reporters. The UN announced on November 10 that it will postpone a
decision on Kosova's final status until after Serbia's election (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," November 13, 2006). BW

At a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on November 13, Italy
called for talks with Serbia on a Stabilization and Association
Agreement to be restarted, B92 reported on November 14. Italy's Deputy
Foreign Minister Famiano Crucianelli said the SAA talks, suspended in
May (see "RFE/RL Newsline," May 2, 3, and 4, 2006) should be restarted
in order to help Belgrade get over the eventual shock of losing Kosova.
"The opening of EU-Serbia discussions could be granted with the
condition that the future Serbian government would have to definitely
meet the demands of the Hague court and arrest [Bosnian-Serb war crimes
indictee] Ratko Mladic," Crucianelli said. BW

Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Draskovic said on November 14 that he
believes that support for Kosova independence among Contact Group
members is wavering, B92, Beta and FoNet reported the same day. "The
Western part of the Contact Group -- the U.S., France, Great Britain,
and Italy -- are still closest to some form of independence. However,
their stance is not as resolute today as it was at the beginning of the
Kosovo discussions," Draskovic said. He added that in the event that
Kosova is granted independence, Serbia will need to respond by
increasing its influence in the world and in the EU. "Then we will have
the opportunity to revise any eventual wrong decisions that were made,"
he said. BW

Moldova and Georgia decided on November 13 to work together to resolve
"frozen conflicts" in the former Soviet Union, ITAR-TASS reported the
same day. The agreement to work together on the issue was made during a
meeting in Chisinau between Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin and
Georgian Foreign Minister Gela Bezhuashvili. "The problem of the frozen
conflicts may be resolved only if the territorial integrity of the two
countries is maintained," Voronin's press service said in a statement.
The two sides, Voronin said, also agreed to "settle other problems
together," including "advancing...our countries to Europe." Moldova's
Foreign Affairs and European Integration Ministry has already released
a statement condemning South Ossetia's independence referendum (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," November 13, 2006). BW

The Agency Coordinating Body for Afghan Relief (ACBAR) expressed
security and rights concerns in a meeting with a visiting UN Security
Council delegation in Kabul on November 13, Pajhwok Afghan News
reported on November 14. The UN delegation was on a four-day visit to
gather information about the security situation in Afghanistan. ACBAR,
which brings together about 80 aid agencies involved in humanitarian
efforts in Afghanistan, described escalating violence, human rights
violations, and "insufficient peace and reconstruction strategies" to
the UN visitors. The group argued that current international efforts in
Afghanistan -- focused on military action, donor-driven aid, and
Western-style democracy -- may not be well suited to a country that has
seen foreign intervention fail time and again. The agencies advocated a
shift in strategy from counterterrorism to promotion of human security.
The Security Council representatives were also warned that aid agencies
are likely to curtail their activities in Afghanistan due to security
concerns. CJ

The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) announced from Kabul on
November 14 that it will distribute food to thousands of people
affected by violence and recent drought, the United Nations Integrated
Regional Information Networks (IRIN) reported the same day. The WFP
said some 70,000 people in the drought-affected southeastern provinces
of Zabul, Oruzgan, and Kandahar will receive more than 1,100 tons of
food, including cereals, oil, and iodized salt. An additional 2,000
tons of food will be distributed to 200,000 people in 26 districts in
the provinces of Helmand, Nimroz, Zabul, Oruzgan, and Kandahar through
a food-for-work program. The food-for-work program is designed to
provide food for the needy while it repairs important infrastructure,
such as roads, bridges, and schools. The WFP also plans to pre-position
21,000 tons of food in seven provinces across Afghanistan, to provide
assistance to 2.3 million people, before the areas become inaccessible
due to heavy snowfall. In light of current food shortages, the agency
is calling for further international donations. CJ

Afghan President Hamid Karzai expressed his support for the
implementation of a new international law requiring the destruction of
land mines and unexploded ordnance to avoid postconflict casualties,
Karzai's office announced on November 14. "The government of
Afghanistan fully backs the international convention against land mines
and unexploded ordinances," the presidential announcement said, adding
that the law is crucial to ensuring the security and safety of the
Afghan people. The Protocol on Explosive Remnants of War -- a protocol
to the 1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons -- took effect
on November 12. The agreement is the first of its kind requiring
"parties to an armed conflict to clear all unexploded munitions that
threaten civilians, peacekeepers and humanitarian workers once the
fighting is over." CJ

A military center that will be operated by Afghan and NATO-led
International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) personnel opened in
Afghanistan's northern Panjshir province on November 14, Pajhwak
reported the same day. At the center's ceremonial opening in the
provincial capital, Bazarak, the commander of U.S.-led Combined Task
Force-76, Benjamin Freakly, said the goal of the center is to bolster
security in the region by improving coordination among army, police,
and intelligence forces. Panjshir Governor Bahlol Baheej said the
location of the center is strategic, as the province borders seven
other provinces, including Kapisa, a currently volatile area of
northern Afghanistan. Baheej indicated that the presence of the center
will help prevent militants from establishing a presence in Panjshir.
CJ

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei received Lebanese parliamentary
speaker Nabih Berri in Tehran on November 14 and congratulated him on
the Lebanese people's "victory" over Israel in July, IRNA reported.
Berri was heading a delegation of members of Hizballah and Amal,
Lebanon's Shi'a parties. Khamenei said the Lebanese fight against
"America and the Zionist regime" was "unprecedented" and he called
Hizballah chief Hasan Nasrallah "an exceptional figure." Khamenei
attributed the perceived success in part to "unity and solidarity"
between Amal and Hizballah "brothers." U.S. policies "in the world and
the region are heading for defeat," Khamenei said, and "one must...make
the most use of these opportunities." Berri was in Tehran to attend the
Seventh Public Forum of Asian Parliaments for Peace. Iranian Foreign
Minister Manuchehr Mottaki met separately with his Palestinian
counterpart, Mahmud al-Zahar, in Tehran on November 14, reiterating
Iran's support for Palestinian aspirations. He said the United States
and Israel are "currently faced with various failures in international
and regional arenas in Lebanon, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Palestine," and
"American officials are now seeing the results of their mistaken
approaches in various areas." These, Mottaki said, have led to
electoral defeat for the administration of U.S. President George W.
Bush, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's removal, "and other electoral
aftershocks." VS

President Mahmud Ahmadinejad said in Tehran on November 14 that
Iranians will be informed of "two important and very advanced
achievements in technology" by the Ten Days of Dawn, the 10-day period
each February commemorating the 1979 revolution, IRNA reported. "In one
of these two technologies, no country has so far been successful," he
said. "The Ten Days of Dawn this year will be 10 days of magnificent
festivities...in the nuclear and technological fields." Ahmadinejad
gave no details of the breakthroughs but said that by February, "these
two achievements will be at the people's disposal and will formally
enter the Iranian market." He also spoke of the economy, stating that
the government is working to encourage and provide a favorable
environment for small business start-ups intended to create many jobs
fast. "If we imagine that a country can be run with large-scale
investment alone, we are mistaken," IRNA quoted him as saying. VS

[35] IRANIAN FORMER MINISTER SAYS HE WARNED BRITAIN TO STAY OUT OF IRAQ

Former Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi said in Tehran on
November 14 that the United Kingdom and the United States are "late" in
asking Iran to help them resolve the problems of Iraq, ISNA reported.
He said he told British Prime Minister Tony Blair a month before Iraq's
2003 invasion by Anglo-American forces not to "dirty yourself" with the
war and to advise the United States not to enter "the Iraqi quagmire,"
recalling Britain's own historical experience in Iraq. Britain, as one
of the powers that dismembered the Ottoman Empire, oversaw Iraq's
transition to full independence in the 1920s and 1930s. Kharrazi said
that at another meeting one year after the invasion he advised Blair to
leave Iraq. "They are stuck in Iraq today," Kharrazi said. "They can
neither stay in the Iraqi government, nor can they leave Iraq. And we
have no choice but to think of our best interests and those of the
people and government of Iraq." What reason is there, he asked, "for us
to help people who are against us and who seek to disrupt the state of
the entire Middle East?" VS

Arrest warrants issued by Argentinian prosecutors against former
Iranian officials accused of planning a 1994 bombing in Buenos Aires
have heightened tensions between the two states and caused discord
within Argentina's own government, Radio Farda and Reuters reported on
November 13 and 14 (see "RFE/RL Newsline," October 27 and November 13,
2006). Argentina accused Iran on November 13 of meddling in its
internal affairs by complaining about investigations into the bombing
case, and its foreign ministry summoned Iranian charge d'affaires
Mohsen Baharvand to explain why an Iranian prosecutor reportedly asked
for arrest warrants to be issued for Argentinian judges working on the
case. Baharvand was handed a letter at the ministry refuting Iranian
criticisms of Argentina's investigations, Reuters reported on November
13. Argentinian President Nestor Kirchner has also asked for the
resignation of left-wing senior civil servant Luis D'Elia, who recently
went to the Iranian mission in Buenos Aires to deposit documents
critical of Argentinian judges handling the dossier, Reuters reported.
VS

Iraqi Prime Minister al-Maliki is scheduled to visit Turkey on November
15 to discuss bilateral relations between the two nations, "Kurdistani
Nuwe" reported on November 14. Discussions concerning the normalization
of Kirkuk are expected to be on the agenda. Turkey has expressed
concern about Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution, which attempts to
address the issue of Kirkuk, calling for the process to be delayed. In
addition, Turkish officials are expected to call for Iraqi military
intervention to prevent Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) rebels from
attacking Turkish positions from northern Iraqi bases. On September 18,
the Iraqi government announced that it had closed down the offices of
the PKK in Iraq (see "RFE/RL Newsline," September 19, 2006). Al-Maliki
will also discuss the sharing of water resources and the possibility of
opening up new border crossings between the two countries to boost
trade. SS

Gunmen wearing police commando uniforms kidnapped an estimated 100
staff and visitors at the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific
Research building in central Baghdad on November 14, international
media reported the same day. Ministry spokesman Basil al-Khatib said
gunmen arrived in pickup trucks, stormed the building, ordered the
women into one room, and seized the men. Witnesses said the gunmen
reportedly closed off roads around the institute in Baghdad's
Al-Karradah district and took away their captives in handcuffs. Iraqi
Minister of Higher Education Abd Dhiyab al-Ajili said teaching at
Baghdad's universities will be suspended until the security situation
improved. Al-Ajili said he repeatedly asked for more university
security from the ministries of Defense and Interior, but received
none. Head of the Iraqi parliament's education committee, Ala Makki,
interrupted the legislative body's session to announce the kidnappings,
calling them a "national catastrophe" and urged Prime Minister Nuri
al-Maliki to respond quickly. He also indicated that both Shi'a and
Sunnis were abducted. The incident was the largest mass kidnapping
since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. SS

Most of the people reported kidnapped in Baghdad on November 14 were
reported freed on November 15. Iraqi state television quoted an
Interior Ministry spokesman as saying most of the captives were freed
in operations by security forces. There was no confirmation of the
report, and it remained unclear how many other hostages are still being
held or if any had been injured. Amid suspicions of police complicity
in the kidnapping, at least five senior police officers were later
reported detained for questioning, including the police chief of the
Karrada district, where the abductions occurred. RC

The Iraqi Interior Ministry announced on November 13 that it has
dismissed 1,258 employees and prospective employees, Baghdad satellite
television reported the same day. In a statement, the ministry said 559
current employees and 699 applicants who were still in the process of
selection were dismissed. In addition, the ministry said 1,907
complaints concerning employees have been received and were being
investigated. The statement added there are 181 cases in court, 41
cases were awaiting trial, and that 25 cases have been dismissed for
lack of sufficient evidence. In addition, disciplinary actions were
taken in 812 cases. Recently, the Interior Ministry has taken
aggressive steps to counter corruption and weed out personnel suspected
of having links to militias. On October 17, the ministry reassigned two
top police commanders who Sunni Arabs suspected of having links with
Shi'ite death squads (see "RFE/RL Newsline," October 18, 2006). SS

A new political front has been formed in the Diyala Governorate in
reaction to the deteriorating security situation and to counter Iranian
influence in the region, Baghdad satellite television reported on
November 13. The front, formed under the slogan "The unity of Diyala is
part of Iraq's unity," is comprised of 10 parties including the Iraqi
Islamic Party, the Iraqi Turkoman Front (ITC), the Iraqi National
Dialogue Front, and the Iraqi National Movement. A statement from the
new front said the governorate is going through the worst stage ever in
terms of lack of security because of Iran's purported attempts to
control it. "The political situation has necessitated the formation of
the front in view of Diyala's strategic location, which made it greatly
suffer as a result of the Iranian regime's attempts to control it and
turn it into a base for gathering its intelligence and destructive
forces and agents," the statement said. SS

The lawyer for Lance Corporal Jerry Shumate said on November 14 that
his client will plead guilty to aggravated assault in the death of an
Iraqi civilian, international media reported the same day. Shumate is
alleged to have been one of a group of eight soldiers accused of
killing 52-year-old Hashim Ibarhim al-Awad in Al-Hamdaniyah on April
26. Prosecutors accuse the eight of dragging al-Awad from his home and
shooting him, then staging a cover-up to make it look as if he was an
insurgent who was planting roadside bombs. Two Marines and a Navy medic
have already pleaded guilty to charges related to al-Awad's killing. SS

The Kirkuk District Police Director Brigadier-General Sarhad Qadir
announced on November 14 that 30 accused terrorists have been arrested
in the Daquq District of Kirkuk, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK)
website announced the same day. "Thirty terrorists and suspects have
been arrested in the operation, 15 of who were wanted by the police and
multinational forces," he said. Qadir also said three cars and 30
weapons were seized in the operation conducted jointly by the Iraqi
police, Army and multinational forces. SS

In a surprise move on November 10, Georgian President Mikheil
Saakashvili announced the dismissal of Georgia's hawkish Defense
Minister Irakli Okruashvili and his appointment to the post of economy
minister. Okruashvili succeeds Irakli Chogovadze, who was
simultaneously named to head the Georgian Oil and Gas Corporation
following the resignation of its president, David Ingorokva, in the
wake of a corruption scandal involving one of his subordinates.

Saakashvili named to succeed Okruashvili as defense minister former
Finance Police head David Kezerashvili, whom he described as "young but
daring, educated and firm. He displayed high professional and human
qualities as financial police chief ...We fully trust Kezerashvili and
think that he will make a perfect defense minister," ITAR-TASS
reported. Kezerashvili, who is 28, graduated from the Department of Law
and International Relations of Tbilisi Sytate University and began work
at the Justice Ministry in 2001 when Saakashvili was minister; he is
also a co-founder of Saakashvili's United National Movement.

Kezerashvili assured the television station Rustavi-2 on November 12
that "restoration of the territorial integrity of Georgia remains our
major goal, and nothing has changed," Caucasus Press reported on
November 13. Okruashvili for his part has made clear that he is less
than enthusiastic about his new appointment, which several commentators
see as a demotion. He commented to his new subordinates on November 11
that "my heart and soul remain with the army," Caucasus Press
reported.

Saakashvili's public explanation for transferring Okruashvili from the
defense to the economy ministry was that Georgia's economy "is now our
battle front," and that the managerial and organizational talents of
Okruashvili, whom Saakashvili described as "our strongest minister,"
are best deployed there, according to the Russian daily "Kommersant" on
November 13. But commentators in both Tbilisi and Moscow have offered
several alternative explanations. One, proposed by Georgian opposition
parliamentarian Tina Khidasheli, stems from Okruashvili's aggressive
stance with regard to the unrecognized Republic of South Ossetia. As
interior minister, Okruashvili, who was born in the South Ossetian
capital, Tskhinvali, was behind an abortive incursion into that
republic in the late summer of 2004 (see "RFE/RL Caucasus Report,"
August 5 and 20, 2006). And in February 2006, he publicly vowed to step
down as defense minister if he failed to bring the breakaway region
back under the control of the central Georgian government by the end of
this year, enabling him to celebrate New Year 2007 in Tskhinvali.
Khidasheli therefore suggested that in light of repeated Russian
statements in recent months accusing Georgia of plotting a new military
action against South Ossetia, Saakashvili "sacrificed" Okruashvili in
the name of trying to improve strained relations with Moscow, a move
she condemned as "setting a bad precedent," according to "Kommersant."

A second opposition politician, Imedi party chair Irina
Sarishvili-Chanturia, was similarly quoted on November 13 as stating
that Okruashvili was "sacrificed" in the name of Georgian-Russian
relations. But if this was indeed Saakashvili's hope, it seems to have
been misplaced: "Kommersant" on November 13 quoted an unnamed Kremlin
official as saying that Okruashvili's dismissal "makes no difference.
In order to resume a dialogue, [the Georgian leaders] first have to
abandon the idea of using force" against Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Opposition Labor party leading member Djondi Baghaturia was quoted by
the daily "Akhali taoba" on November 13 as suggesting that Okruashvili
was demoted because other top officials felt threatened by his
popularity and influence. According to a poll conducted by the weekly
"Kviris palitra," the findings of which were published on November 6,
over 90 percent of the 552 respondents considered Okruashvili the
second-most influential figure in Georgia after Saakashvili, while 59
percent of the 463 respondents in a subsequent poll termed Okruashvili
"the most attractive" Georgian politician, according to Caucasus Press
on November 13.

Other analysts, however, believe that more sinister motives lay behind
Saakashvili's decision to sideline Okruashvili, namely that Saakashvili
feared Okruashvili might try to oust him. Interfax on November 10
quoted Sergei Markov, director of the Moscow-based Center for Political
Research, as saying that "this is the most important news from Georgia
in 2006 -- it means that Saakashvili has averted a coup attempt."
Markov added that in recent months, "Georgia has had not a Saakashvili
regime but a Saakashvili-Okruashvili regime, in which the army was more
loyal to the latter."

"Kommersant" for its part quoted a Kremlin insider as observing that
"the impression is that Saakashvili considered [Okruashvili]
excessively independent, and therefore dangerous." But "Kommersant"
also quoted unnamed Tbilisi analysts as dismissing the coup hypothesis
on the grounds that Okruashvili's imputed popularity was grossly
exaggerated, and that he "lacked the resources" to stage a successful
seizure of power.

How Okruashvili's removal will impact on the Georgian armed forces
remains unclear. Civil Georgia on November 11 quoted the Georgian daily
"Rezonansi" as predicting that Kezerashvili is intended only as a
stopgap figure, and that Georgia's envoy to the UN Irakli Alasania will
soon be recalled to Tbilisi to head the defense ministry.